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The New Chicago Way: Lessons from Other Big Cities
Contributor(s): Bachrach, Edgar H. (Author), Berg, Austin Ray (Author)
ISBN: 0809337517     ISBN-13: 9780809337514
Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press
OUR PRICE:   $19.31  
Product Type: Paperback
Published: January 2019
Qty:
Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Political Science | American Government - Local
- Political Science | Public Affairs & Administration
- Political Science | Public Policy - City Planning & Urban Development
Dewey: 320.609
LCCN: 2018053009
Physical Information: 0.9" H x 5.9" W x 8.9" (1.00 lbs) 288 pages
Themes:
- Locality - Chicago, Illinois
- Geographic Orientation - Illinois
- Demographic Orientation - Urban
- Chronological Period - 21st Century
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
For all the wrong reasons, a national spotlight is shining on Chicago. The city has become known for its violence, police abuse, parent and teacher unrest, population decline, and mounting municipal and pension debt. The underlying problem, contend Ed Bachrach and Austin Berg, is that deliberative democracy is dead in the city. Chicago is home to the last strongman political system in urban America. The mayor holds all the power, and any perceived checks on mayoral control are often proven illusory. Rash decisions have resulted in poor outcomes. The outrageous consequences of unchecked power are evident in government failures in elections, schools, fiscal discipline, corruption, public support for private enterprise, policing, and more.

Rather than simply lament the situation, criticize specific leaders, or justify an ideology, Bachrach and Berg compare the decisions about Chicago's governance and finances with choices made in fourteen other large U.S. cities. The problems that seem unique to Chicago have been encountered elsewhere, and Chicagoans, the authors posit, can learn from the successful solutions other cities have embraced.

Chicago government and its citizens must let go of the past to prepare for the future, argue Bachrach and Berg. A future filled with demographic, technological, and economic change requires a government capable of responding and adapting. Reforms can transform the city. The prescriptions for change provided in this book point toward a hopeful future: the New Chicago Way.