I lived in Chicago. Corruption was so ingrained in the politics that books were written on the subject. The Machine of Mayor Dailey (the first) was efficient. People took the matter for granted. He was long dead by the time I arrived in the City of Broad SHoulders. But his Machine lived on. There was the occasional Federal indictment, and a sitting or former Governor seemed always in the dock. The system was built on sugar. Call it what you will---cash, payola, kickbacks, whatever. The pre-Rupert Murdoch Sun Times did an excellent expose on the process. The paper bought a bar and installed cameras and mikes to record all the public officials who visisted to solicit money for permits and the like. The named the bar "The Mirage," and the book, comprised of the series of articles that resulted from the operation, bore the same title.

   I moved here and things seemed different. I have read local political blogs about what seems to be the rise of corruption. Everyone, matters boil down to this: it's all about the sugar. Maybe someone should open a bar. No---that is not the nature of the beast here. Maybe someone should open a construction company. Just don't call it The Mirage. Someone might get wise to a set-up.