Word: hartley
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Democrats, however--especially former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley--did not like him much at all. As Hartley points out in one of his rare moments of enlightened commentary, Thompson prosecuted and achieved convictions of government officials for such commonplace trivialities as bribery, extortion--part of the politicians' "unofficial understanding" of the American political system--and mail fraud "without the political system stopping him at some point...
...HARTLEY'S superficial treatment of the Kerner case--an event so important to Thompson's career--is a major fault of this book. It reads too much like an expanded news article. The short sentences and paragraphs of the journalistic style make for quick reading, but they also give the impression that Hartley does little more than skim the surface of Thompson's career and character...
Furthermore, Hartley emphasizes only the positive aspects of Thompson's career. Admittedly, his ascendence to the governor's mansion was a phenomenal success story for a relatively young man (41 years old when elected for his first term in 1976). But Thompson has been the center of controversy since his days as a U.S. attorney...
...criticized back then for his manipulation of publicity and his liberal granting of immunity to obtain testimony in order to convict. Usually, the big-name politicians accused of committing offenses like bribery were not those let off the hook. But Hartley fails to include comments from people critical of Thompson's practices. Instead, he describes Thompson's philosophy on immunity: "one conviction is better than none...
...Hartley's descriptions of the controversies surrounding Thompson's gubernatorial campaign and tenure as governor (he is in the middle of his second term) are equally one-sided and inadequate. He merely mentions that Thompson accepted donations and gifts from prominent Illinois businessmen and corporations...