To understand Chicago Machine politics, you have to understand the identity politics. It was always more of a Rainbow Coalition than a melting pot.
Governer Rod Blagojevich is of Serb heritage. They say Tony Rezko is a Syrian immigrant, but Rezko could be more Near Eastern than Middle Eastern among the part of Chicago where I grew up. Is there some kind of Serb or perhaps Orthodox Christian Mafia now ascendent in Illinois politics or are these ethnic identifications accidental?
Does Barack Obama count as part of the Serb Mafia on account of his Kenyan father? Not so far-fetched as many East Africans are Orthodox Christians and the Russians used to have strong connections to that part of the world. Or am I too deep into Near-Eastern conspiracy-think?
