Italian Politics

Politics in Little Italy

      Taylor street, or "Little Italy", was not only home to countless incoming Italian immigrants in the later 1800's and early 1900's, but also a complex blend of political participation from this newly created community of Italians.


      Despite their numbers though, they weren't very successful in actually gaining office; no Italian has ever became a mayor of Chicago, for example. This is mostly because of how a lot of Italians were unskilled workers, and were unfit for politicians. Additionally, because racial profiling, a lot of Italians were viewed as "mobsters," and were looked down upon, ruining their chances of gaining public office. However, this connection did have at least some merit to it.


      The main problem of the Italians in gaining office was the lack of unity in politics, despite being a large population. The Italian immigrants had no clear favor in political party or stance at the time period, and was split apart by radical groups such as socialists and anarchists. 


      While they saw little success in politics themselves, Italians nonetheless provided a staggering impact on the political machine of Chicago through what was known as the "Italian vote" which fluctuated year to year. This refers to how the Italian voters were capable of shifting a vote in their favor because of their massive population. Several sources impacted this, such as the practice of trading votes to employers in exchange for job opportunities or services, and the fact that Italians generally voted for policies that favored workers.



      Most of this is because the Italians never came to America for political reasons anyway; they mostly immigrated for work, most notably on the railroads. Because of this, a vast majority of Italian immigrants favored politicians who supported labor, and they were able to sway votes in their favor that way. Despite not being well versed in politics, their sheer numbers more than made up for this when it came to the polls.




      Outside of voting, the Italian mob is notable for a major way Italians impacted Chicago politics with major organized crime syndicates such as the Chicago Outfit, started by James Colosimo, which was heavily linked to the Italians. Their ability to bribe government officials put them in a stance of power by providing immunity to the law by taking advantage of widespread corruption in the local government. This was only magnified by the prohibition in the 1920's, which was when the mob was most active in bootlegging.





      Below is a video about one of the mob's most famous members, Al Capone, and his extraordinary impact on the city around him.