Chicago, the Most Corrupt City in the USA

In a study conducted last year, Chicago was listed as the most corrupt city in the United States. Last week, the court rejected a request to reduce the 14-year prison sentence of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted precisely for corruption. This is just one of many similar cases in Chicago's history.

Chicago has many nicknames, the most famous being the Windy City and the American Capital of Corruption.

"New York is known for its skyscrapers - the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center, September 11. Detroit for cars. Las Vegas for gambling. And what does Chicago have? Gangsters," said Russell Lewis from the Chicago History Museum.

Since gangster Al Capone placed a member of his organization as Chicago's mayor, the city has been known for cooperation between politicians and criminals.

A University of Illinois study showed that since 1976, as many as 1,642 city officials have been convicted of corruption, more than any other American city.

"We found corruption in the police. We found corruption in the suburbs. We found that 33 of my colleagues, members of the City Council, ended up in prison since the '70s, when I was a councilman. We're not talking about rotten apples in a basket, that would be okay, we would get rid of the rotten apples. But here we are talking about a rotten basket," said Dick W. Simpson from the University of Illinois.

The city has a whole gallery of politicians who have been behind bars: Congressman Jesse Jackson Junior - imprisoned in 2013 for campaign fund misuse; Congressman Dan Rostenkowski - imprisoned in 1994 for embezzlement; former Congressman Mel Reynolds - imprisoned for bank fraud and campaign fund misuse. He was re-elected after being convicted of sexually abusing a 16-year-old volunteer.

Eradicating Corruption

Chicago politics dominates Illinois, a state whose four of the last nine governors ended up in prison.

"If it is not the most corrupt American state, then it is a fierce contender for that title," said Robert Grant, an FBI special agent.

Republican Jordan Ryan was imprisoned for selling state contracts. Democrat Rod Blagojevich for attempting to sell former Obama’s Senate seat.

"Behavior that would make Lincoln turn over in his grave," said Patrick Fitzgerald, the state attorney.

"Because of corruption, millions and millions of dollars have been misused in Chicago, while the authorities answer to someone else, not the citizens. The state has adopted one of the study's recommendations: civics is now a mandatory subject for high school students so that future politicians know what honest governance is," reported Al Jazeera reporter John Hendren.

"Essentially, we have to change the entire system by electing new city officials committed to reforms and citizens who will demand that these officials actually do their job," said Dick W. Simpson.

But even if the study's recommendations are implemented, he emphasizes, eradicating the culture of corruption in Chicago will take years.