Sort of plantation politics

It usually refers to when White Machine politicians continued to direct political organizations in Black wards, sometimes even when the elected officials were Black.

That’s what happened in Chicago’s west side wards 24, 27, 28, and 29. A Black Alderman was elected in the 24th in 1957, but White Machine politicians still ran things behind the scenes as late as the 1970s. Wards 27 and 28 had Black majorities in the early ‘60s but didn’t elect Black Aldermen until 1971. And the 27th had a White Democratic Committeeman until 1984.

The southside 16th ward re-elected its Machine backed White Alderman in 1967 even though the ward was 87% Black.

Today, southwest side wards 13 and 14 are predominantly Hispanic but are still represented by White Aldermen and the 13th has a White Committeeman.

A different kind of plantation politics existed in other places, too. When city wards experienced ethnic turnover, those who had been in power before often remained in power for a while longer.

Jerome Huppert, a Luxembourg Catholic, served six termas as the Democratic Commiteeman of the predominantly Jewish 50th ward.

What had once been a Republican bailiwick had become reliably Democratic as Jewish voters moved in during the early and mid-50s. A Jewish Alderman was elected in 1955.

But Huppert defeated Jewish opponents in the Committeeman elections of 1956 and 1960 and was unchallenged until Alderman Benard Stone declared his candidacy in 1976. Mayor Richard J. Daley forced Stone to back down that year and let Huppert win an uncontested election.

A Jewish Committeeman wasn’t elected until 1980 (State Senator Howard Carroll defeated Stone and another candidate), after Daley’s death, when the Jewish population in the ward had already begun to decline.

Jewish voters are still the largest ethnic group in the 50th ward today, but are far short of a majority. The Alderman and the Committeemen of both parties are Jewish.