Cheaters are lazy

That’s what Max Gorenstein told me. He was a 50th Ward Democratic precinct captain who had honed his craft in the 24th Ward of party boss Jacob Arvey. 

He said that captains who cheated hadn’t worked their precincts and were trying to pull a victory out of the fire at the last minute. 

I was an 18-year-old campaigner for Republican Alderman Jack Sperling, who had been endorsed by IVI, IPO, and Jesse Jackson’s Operation Breadbasket. Since I was so young, Gorenstein didn’t feel threatened by me. He told me a lot of things he might not have said to an older adversary. 

At the end of his discourse, he declared, “You can’t beat me. I worked the precinct and I’ve got the votes.” 

Sperling carried six of the seven precincts I was in charge of. He didn’t win Max’s precinct.