Chapter VI Summary and Analysis

Police corruption is pervasive and out of control. Cops are on the take. Suspects are routinely beaten and stolen from. Cops are socially connected with gangsters. There are honest cops working in the lab, communications room, and in desk jobs. These cops don't get promoted and they are isolated. No one wants to work traffic with an honest cop. The number of honest cops is dwarfed by the dishonest ones. When the community complains, a few cursory steps are taken to "clean things up," but conditions return to normal in a matter of days or weeks. Most Chicagoans look at the corrupt state of the police department as a natural part of Chicago.

Police corruption was bad in 1955 when Daley comes into office and worse in 1960 after his first term. He is well aware of the true state of...