Download or read book Big Jim Thompson of Illinois written by Robert E. Hartley and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Man Who Emptied Death Row written by James L. Merriner and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 2008-09-08 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: George H. Ryan, Illinois governor from 1999 to 2003, became nationally known for two significant and very different reasons. The first governor in the United States to clear out his state’s death row and put a moratorium on the death penalty, he was also convicted and sent to prison on corruption charges. The Man Who Emptied Death Row: Governor George Ryan and the Politics of Crime details the career of a man who both enhanced and tarnished the image of the highest office in Illinois and examines the political history and culture that shaped him. Author James L. Merriner explores the two very different stories of George Ryan: the brave crusader against the death penalty and the petty crook. An extensive analysis of the official record, exclusive interviews, and previously undisclosed incidents in Ryan’s career expose why the governor pardoned or commuted the sentences of all 171 prisoners on Illinois’s death row before leaving office and how he later was convicted of eighteen counts of official corruption. This biography traces Ryan’s family history and the Illinois political climate that influenced his development as a politician. Although Ryan championed “good-government” initiatives—organ donations, tougher drunken-driving and lobbyist disclosure laws—he never overcame a reputation as a wheeler-dealer, notes Merriner. Merriner goes beyond Ryan’s life and career to explore the politics of crime, highlighting the successes and failures of the criminal justice system and suggesting how both white-collar fraud and violent crime shape politics. A fascinating story that reveals much about the way Illinois politics works, The Man Who Emptied Death Row will help determine how history will judge Illinois governor George Ryan.
Download or read book Illinois Biographical Dictionary written by Caryn Hannan and published by State History Publications. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 775 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biographies on interesting and influential persons who have lived in the state of Illinois.
Download or read book Mr Chairman written by James L. Merriner and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 2002-10-11 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of Dan Rostenkowski's rise and fall provides one of the keys to how power is sought, won, exercised, and distributed in contemporary America, argues political journalist James L. Merriner. A literal son of the Chicago political machine, Rostenkowski was installed in politics by his father, Alderman Joseph P. Rostenkowski, and by his mentor, Mayor Richard I. Daley. In his thirty-six year congressional career, he served nine presidents, forming close friendships with many of them. His legislative masterpiece was the 1986 tax reform law. Eight years later, he was indicted on federal charges for misusing tax dollars and campaign funds. In his dealings with the man who tumbled dramatically from his high position as chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee all the way down to a cell in a federal prison in Wisconsin, Merriner finds Rostenkowski candid, straightforward, and authentic-- "except when it came to his own finances." Rostenkowski is not a complex man in need of psychoanalysis on the part of his biographer, and Merriner does not indulge in much of that. Purely, simply, and openly, Rostenkowski wanted power. He wanted wealth. He got both, and Merriner shows us how. Merriner sees mythic qualities in Rostenkowski, characterizing him as the "tall bold slugger" of Carl Sandburg's 1916 poem about Chicago. Noting that this master politician climbed to fantastic peaks only to fall hard and fast, Merriner points out that "Rostenkowski's life ascended from power in the political science sense to tragedy in the classical sense." The Justice Department and the electorate sacrificed Rostenkowski as an embodiment of the excesses of big government. Like the Greek chorus of tragedy, major media reported the scandal to the masses. Yet Merriner does not strain to make his subject fit a classical mold. He tells instead the "story of a great man who was also a little man, a statesman and a crook, an emotional man, an American original." This was also a man unbeaten by his troubles, a man who emerged from prison unabashed. This illustrated biography is not authorized by Rostenkowski, who declined Merriner's interview requests after June 1995. His sources are the public record, previous interviews with Rostenkowski and with many other sources before and after 1995, and his own political acumen gained from decades on the political scene.
Download or read book An Uncertain Tradition written by David Kenney and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Rooted written by David R. Pichaske and published by University of Iowa Press. This book was released on 2009-05 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Pichaske has been writing and teaching about midwestern literature for three decades. In Rooted, by paying close attention to text, landscape, and biography, he examines the relationship between place and art. His focus is on seven midwestern authors who came of age toward the close of the twentieth century, their lives and their work grounded in distinct places: Dave Etter in small-town upstate Illinois; Norbert Blei in Door County, Wisconsin; William Kloefkorn in southern Kansas and Nebraska; Bill Holm in Minneota, Minnesota; Linda Hasselstrom in Hermosa, South Dakota; Jim Heynen in Sioux County, Iowa; and Jim Harrison in upper Michigan. The writers' intimate knowledge of place is reflected in their use of details of geography, language, environment, and behavior. Yet each writer reaches toward other geographies and into other dimensions of art or thought: jazz music and formalism in the case of Etter; gender issues in the case of Hasselstrom; time past and present in the case of Kloefkorn; ethnicity and the role of the artist in the case of Blei; magical realism in the case of Heynen; the landscape of literature in the case of Holm; and the curious worlds of academia, best-selling novels, and Hollywood films in the case of Harrison. The result, Pichaske notes, is the growing away from roots, the explorations and alter egos of these writers of place, and the tension between the “here” and “there” that gives each writer's art the complexity it needs to transcend provincial boundaries. Quoting generously from the writers, Pichaske employs a practical, jargon-free literary analysis fixed in the text, making Rooted interesting, readable, and especially useful in treating the literary categories of memoir and literary essay that have become important in recent decades.
Download or read book Illinois Politics Government written by Samuel Kimball Gove and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 1996-01-01 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the end of World War II, the primary political regions of Illinois, Chicago and "downstate, " have lost population, wealth, and political power to a third region, the suburban collar, which has relentlessly expanded outward from Chicago. At the same time, legislative service has changed from a largely part-time "citizen" activity into a "professional, " career-oriented pursuit. Parochial perspectives of elected officials have intensified as reflected in candidates' promises to deliver their districts' "fair share" of government spending. The state legislature has become an arena in which each region battles for its own fair share, rather than an instrument for comprehensively addressing the state's problems. The authors foresee the emergence of political coalitions linking downstate and Chicago-historically at odds-in efforts to protect their "shares" and contend with the suburban collar. Illinois's political leaders face the challenge of looking beyond district interests to the broader concerns of work-force quality and statewide economic prosperity. Samuel K. Gove is Director Emeritus at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs, and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Illinois. He is coeditor with Louis H. Masotti of After Daley: Chicago Politics in Transition. James D. Nowlan is an adjunct professor of public policy at Knox College and a Senior Fellow with the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs. He is the author of A New Game Plan for Illinois.
Download or read book The Mayors written by Paul Michael Green and published by SIU Press. This book was released on with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of essays examine the terms of Chicago mayors, assess their accomplishments and weaknesses, and analyze the way they used the power of their office.
Download or read book The Extra 2 written by Jonah Keri and published by ESPN. This book was released on 2011-03-08 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What happens when three financial industry whiz kids and certified baseball nuts take over an ailing major league franchise and implement the same strategies that fueled their success on Wall Street? In the case of the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays, an American League championship happens—the culmination of one of the greatest turnarounds in baseball history. In The Extra 2%, financial journalist and sportswriter Jonah Keri chronicles the remarkable story of one team’s Cinderella journey from divisional doormat to World Series contender. When former Goldman Sachs colleagues Stuart Sternberg and Matthew Silverman assumed control of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2005, it looked as if they were buying the baseball equivalent of a penny stock. But the incoming regime came armed with a master plan: to leverage their skill at trading, valuation, and management to build a model twenty-first-century franchise that could compete with their bigger, stronger, richer rivals—and prevail. Together with “boy genius” general manager Andrew Friedman, the new Rays owners jettisoned the old ways of doing things, substituting their own innovative ideas about employee development, marketing and public relations, and personnel management. They exorcized the “devil” from the team’s nickname, developed metrics that let them take advantage of undervalued aspects of the game, like defense, and hired a forward-thinking field manager as dedicated to unconventional strategy as they were. By quantifying the game’s intangibles—that extra 2% that separates a winning organization from a losing one—they were able to deliver to Tampa Bay something that Billy Beane’s “Moneyball” had never brought to Oakland: an American League pennant. A book about what happens when you apply your business skills to your life’s passion, The Extra 2% is an informative and entertaining case study for any organization that wants to go from worst to first.
Download or read book Len Small written by Jim Ridings and published by . This book was released on 2018-03 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Governor Len Small in the 1920s, When Al Capone Owned the Top Officials In Illinois. This book tells the whole story of the most corrupt governor in Illinois history.
Download or read book Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents written by and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 954 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Eli s Cheesecake Cookbook written by Maureen Schulman and published by Agate Publishing. This book was released on 2022-01-01 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An updated and expanded edition of The Eli’s Cheesecake Cookbook, released in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Eli’s Cheesecake. The story of Eli’s Cheesecake began more than forty years ago. It rose to prominence originally as the featured dessert at one of Chicago’s most popular restaurants: Eli’s The Place for Steak, a classic steakhouse, pillar of the city’s culinary community, and noted celebrity watering hole. This book details the storied history of one of the nation’s most famous desserts, all the way from Eli Schulman’s first cheesecake to President Obama’s 50th birthday cake to the creation of four towering, 2,000 lb. cheesecakes served at inaugural festivities in Washington, DC. The second edition of the Eli's Cheesecake Cookbook has been fully expanded and updated in honor of the 40th anniversary of Eli's Cheesecake. In addition to the classics featured in the first edition, the new edition features even more cheesecake recipes, including Basque, Cherry Vanilla, Hawaiian, Carrot Cake Cheesecake, and Holiday Cheesecake Dippers―one of Oprah's Favorite Things. You'll also find many more signature dishes from Eli’s The Place for Steak, including Chicken Vesuvio, Pepper Steak, Corned Beef Hash, Potato Pancakes, and French Onion Soup, and an all-new chapter showcasing Eli's bakers from around the world sharing their favorite family recipes. Because of his unique baking process, Eli Schulman is often credited with putting “Chicago-style” cheesecake, richer and creamier than its New York counterpart, on the map. This collection will allow home cooks to make the same cheesecakes that helped celebrate five Chicago Mayoral inaugurations, Abraham Lincoln’s bicentennial, the City of Chicago’s 150th birthday, Illinois' Bicentennial, Hamilton the Musical, the NBA All Star Game, the White Sox World Series, and more. As Eli Schulman might say, it’s a helluva book.
Download or read book One Day written by Gene Weingarten and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-09-08 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “One of the 50 Best Nonfiction Books of the Last 25 Years”—Slate On New Year’s Day 2013, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Gene Weingarten asked three strangers to, literally, pluck a day, month, and year from a hat. That day—chosen completely at random—turned out to be Sunday, December 28, 1986, by any conventional measure a most ordinary day. Weingarten spent the next six years proving that there is no such thing. That Sunday between Christmas and New Year’s turned out to be filled with comedy, tragedy, implausible irony, cosmic comeuppances, kindness, cruelty, heroism, cowardice, genius, idiocy, prejudice, selflessness, coincidence, and startling moments of human connection, along with evocative foreshadowing of momentous events yet to come. Lives were lost. Lives were saved. Lives were altered in overwhelming ways. Many of these events never made it into the news; they were private dramas in the lives of private people. They were utterly compelling. One Day asks and answers the question of whether there is even such a thing as “ordinary” when we are talking about how we all lurch and stumble our way through the daily, daunting challenge of being human.
Download or read book Superconducting Super Collider written by and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book An Embattled and Unapologetic Liberal written by G. Hickrod and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2005 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using material from history, economics, sociology, and political science, Professor George Alan Hickrod weaves a structure that might be called 'Applied Liberalism" in An Embattled and Unapologetic Liberal. This groundbreaking work comprises unpublished material and editorials previously published in two McLean County, Illinois, newspapers, The Pantagraph and The Normalite. Professor Hickrod addresses a wide range of public policy issues from a liberal point of view. Hickrod addresses the following public policy questions: What do Liberals believe, and what might be the future of the Democratic Party? Why is the increasing inequality of wealth and income so dangerous to the Republic? What is wrong with the school funding system in Illinois, and how can we correct it? What is wrong with the way we formulate foreign policy in this nation, and what specifically went wrong in the Iraq War? What is the proper relationship of religion to governance? Not intended only for academia, An Embattled and Unapologetic Liberal is for the general public, progressive Republicans, and liberal Democrats.
Download or read book Newsweek written by and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 1096 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Illinois History written by Andrew Santella and published by Capstone Classroom. This book was released on 2007-10-05 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contains many fascinating and historical facts that tell the story of Illinois.
