The Chicago Mob Connection

I ran across a link to this story that explains the mess we are in: Origins and Growth of Al Capone’s Outfit: Chicago’s First Ward Democratic Organization and its Aftermath.

Barack Obama ran for President with his headquarters in downtown Chicago. Obama’s election night victory speech was just blocks away in Chicago’s Grant Park. To historians of organized crime both locations are located in a significant place: Chicago’s old First Ward. This valuable plot of land is where Chicago’s Democratic Machine and Al Capone’s criminal organization both began. The connection between the two is of great historical significance. Why? Because the Chicago Mob is nothing but an outgrowth of Chicago’s old First Ward Democratic Organization.

Now you have to ask yourself why an obvious doper like Obama doesn’t want an end to Prohibition? Simple. It is the source of his power.

And then at the same link I came across this:

Lurking in the background of the Blagojevich criminal case is a casino license that was to be auctioned off. The license was by far the most valuable asset Blagojevich had control over. Blagojevich wanted the casino built in the Chicago Mob dominated suburb of Rosemont. The Chicago Mob also wanted the casino built there. In November of 2005, Blagojevich brought in Eric Holder to give Rosemont a clean bill of health. Holder and Blagojevich had a news conference outside the Thompson Building, which is in the old First Ward.

The mob connection extends beyond the Blagojevich case. In their drive to retain President Obama’s U.S. Senate seat, the frontrunner is Obama’s friend, Alexi Giannoulis. He is so tainted by Chicago Mob allegations that Illinois Democratic Party Chairman Mike Madigan refused to endorse him in a past race for State Treasurer.

As the Senate race heats up, these connections between the Chicago machine and the mob could prove embarrassing at least for the man the machine has helped elevate to the White House.

Holder is in charge of the prosecutors who are going after the Medical Cannabis dispensaries. My guess is that they are cutting into mob profits.

So what would I expect from the current wave of legalization? Customers will no longer be arrested. But only the mob will be allowed to supply the market. In addition if legal sales are eventually allowed taxes will be set high enough to keep the black market in business.

Think about the high taxes for cigarettes in New York.

Well lets do the math: .8 grams of tobacco in 1 cigarette. That is 16 grams in a pack. .565 ounces. Current price in NY with tax? About $17.70 an ounce. Taxes being mooted for pot? $50 an ounce. The mob should do quite nicely with that level of taxation. Not as well as they are doing now. But they are adaptable.

Vice taxes support criminals. So the question is: how much criminality do the good citizens of America want to support?


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8 responses to “The Chicago Mob Connection”

  1. Eric Scheie Avatar

    A primary difference between cannabis and tobacco is that the latter remains legal to grow.

  2. Simon Avatar

    Yes. And the Illegal stuff generates more profits.

  3. Eric Scheie Avatar

    you have to ask yourself why an obvious doper like Obama doesn’t want an end to Prohibition? Simple. It is the source of his power.

    So why don’t the Republicans turn the tables on this fraud and advocate legalization — beginning with the repeal of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937?

    Might it be the source of their power too? Bipartisan power? The way they have staked out these sneaky positions (with the Ds pretending to be soft on the WoD, while the Rs advocate getting tougher) reminds me of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum agreeing to have a battle.

    Of course, it doesn’t matter how many hours, days and years we spend repeating the obvious; people just don’t wise up. And even many of those who do wise up nonetheless fear doing anything that might seem drastic or disruptive. (Why, suppose all that illegal money stopped flowing… It might trigger bank failures! And we can’t have that. What if Hillary is ironically right?)

  4. Simon Avatar

    Not just bank failures. The collapse of the whole economic system.

    http://classicalvalues.com/2011/11/why-we-must-not-end-prohibition/

    Since it seems to be collapsing anyway now may be a good time to clean it out without much additional harm except to those deeply involved.

  5. Neil Avatar
    Neil

    Progressives will never allow the end of the drug war–it’s too useful to them.

    I always found it interesting that history seems to mostly ignore the growth of the Outfit after Capone. And even the New Geography article you linked here only hints at the ties between the Outfit and the Machine. The two aren’t exactly congruent, but they’re intertwined, from even before Capone.

    I would be shocked if Obama didn’t have mob ties. That’s just part of political life in Chicago.

  6. Simon Avatar

    Neil,

    His wife is the daughter of a Chicago Alderman. And Chicago alderman still vote as a block. Typical city council votes are 50-0, 49-1, 48-2. And that is it.

    I believe that tells you what you need to know.

  7. Kathy Kinsley Avatar
    Kathy Kinsley

    “…how much criminality do the good citizens of America want to support?”

    None. But they aren’t listening to me, any more than they are to you.

    @everybody. No one in power wants an end to the drug war. There’s too much money in it. Hillary got it on the nose. Thank you for the momentary honesty, ma’am. I don’t expect it will be repeated, but once was enough.

  8. Clyde Avatar
    Clyde

    Corporate defined mj prohibition has historically played a bigger role than the mob and politicians, who dabbled in high end mj in the mid 70’s and then went back, with a vengeance, to the “hard drugs”, with the greedy ones rocking the boat to create the crack epidemic.

    I think politicians are equally afraid these days.