"Election"

I put that word in quotes because here in Chicago, there was an election and I voted, but as usual, the results were predictable: Da Mayor won. No surprise there. It's his sixth term, and if he lives through it (unlike his dad, who also was elected for a sixth term), then he'll be the longest-serving mayor here.

He's corrupt, but he's done a good job overall. But really, what can we do? The competition can't match his experience or power, so I really see Da Mayor more as a king than an elected official. There were also aldermanic races, and I was going to say that my ward is another predictable election, but surprisingly, the incumbent alderman might actually lose! Which means that I have to follow the election results, which I never do on the city level.

Chicago is a one-party town, which makes voting odd: you're either voting for one Democrat or another. Luckily, not everyone thinks the same way, but it's sort of strange to live in a free country yet have a huge city with only one party. And what's also bizarre for a "free" system is that the aldermen in the city council usually go along with what Da Mayor wants. So they're the knights in the ruler's kingdom.