Paddy Bauler - Alderman, Saloon Keeper, Pretend Irish, Big Fat Guy: Part 2

This is the second of a two part series on Paddy Bauler, check out the first post here.

Bauler is probably most known for uttering the now infamous line "Chicago ain't ready for reform yet!" (often misquoted without the "yet") after the 1955 election of Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley.

Bauler was also noted for altercations with Yippie party leader Abbie Hoffman during the tumultuous year of 1968.  Hoffman, every bit as an enigmatic figure as Paddy Bauler, had wreaked havoc amongst the Chicago democratic machine politics of Chicago during the 1968 Democratic Party Convention, allegedly threatening to dump LSD into the city water supply, as well as to pull down Hubert Humphrey's pants.  Bauler's enthusiastic cry of electoral triumph has come to symbolize Chicago's historic and on going struggles with political corruption.  Suffice it to say, recent champions of political rectitude and historic re enactments, such as Milorad R. "Rod" Blagojevich and George Ryan have kept the tradition alive and well.

In case anyone is counting, that makes six governors that have been charged with crimes during or after their terms in offense (oops... I mean office).

Not surprisingly, Bauler was very much entwined in the Chicago political machine throughout his reign as alderman supreme.  According to his article "FATHERS, SONS AND UNHOLY GHOSTS", James L. Merriner notes that "Two of his (Bauler's) brothers were aldermen, another brother was a cop, his son was a sanitation superintendent, and anyone else even distantly related seemed to get city jobs somehow."

Ultimately, Bauler's contributions to the political culture were minimal beyond his use of patronage as he pushed for few legislative changes and general disdained reformers, calling one particularly bothersome reformer "so dumb he probably thinks the forest preserve is some kind of jelly" (quote thanks to David K. Fremon's "Chicago Politics, ward by ward" )

Mother's Day In Old Town

In honor of Mother's day this Sunday, here are some lovely flowers courtesy of Old Town Garden's.  You can read me eariler piece about the Garden's here.  I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, and don't forget to call your mothers! 

Lakefront Sculpture Exhibit

A quick heads up here on the Lakefront Sculpture Exhibit.  I can't tell the story any better than Alderman herself, so the following is from the Alderman Vi Daley's website. 

Entering its ninth year, the Lakefront Sculpture Exhibit (LSE) was created by Alderman Vi Daley to bring large-scale art to the neighborhoods in the ward.  The LSE this year has grown and will install 20 new sculptures around the 43^rd and 44^th wards.  The support of local businesses, individuals, groups and organizations makes it possible to present these ever changing sculptures on our streets.

For the 2010 exhibit, a jury selected twenty local artists’ sculptures to be sited in areas ranging from contemplative park settings to manufacturing districts, and from quiet residential streets to bustling commercial avenues. The large and mid-size sculptures take on new dimension when viewed in these urban landscapes throughout the area. The eye-catching sculptures will remain on display for 12 months.  In May of 2010 the current sculptures will be taken down and the new exhibit will be installed.

Chosen artists for 2010 include: Terry Karpowicz, Nicole Beck, Eric Steele, Shencheng Xu, John Adduci, Andrew Arvanetes and Jennifer Dickson. Todd Willing’s sculpture “Mesa” is representative of the American Southwest; while John Bannon’s work “Composition in Aluminum” is a decidedly more contemporary sculpture.  Jason Verbeek creates a “Living Sculpture” bringing sedum and chicks and hens to a steel sculpture.

You will see that it takes “Two to Tango” and what it really means to be “In Deep Rough.” And you won’t want to miss Andrew Arvanetes futuristic “Twist and Shout” or Ron Gard’s “Ripe Fig Split.”

Just to give you an Idea of what we are talking about, below I've linked to a couple of sculptures from the 2009 series, which will be taken down shortly, and replaced with new works.  I only hope the new works are as impressive and beautiful as these sculptures, which have enhanced our community for the past year.  You can see these sculptures, the rest of the 2009 sculptures, as well as the previous years sculptures, dating back to 2002 here at the Chicago Lakefront Sculpture Exhibit website.

“Going Green” • 12’ x 5’ x 6’ • Aluminum

Artist: Michael Young

Sponsor: Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce

Location: Clark Street - North of Drummond

 

 

 

 

“Chamber Muse Synesthesia” • 9’ x 4’ x 3’ • Epoxy Clad Steel

Artist: Richard Kiebdaj

Sponsor: Central Lake View Merchants Association

Location: Clark and Roscoe

 

 

 

“Bridge” • 4’ x 7.25’ x 3.75’ • Fiberglass with Iron Armature

Artist: Jennifer Dickson

Sponsor: Old Town Triangle Association

Location: Clark and Lincoln