title: Dirty Waters: Confessions of Chicago's Last Harbor Boss (Chicago Visions and Revisions)
author: R. J. Nelson
description: <DIV>&ldquo;Is it the water in Lake Michigan that makes Chicago such a politically corrupt city? That might sound like an outlandish theory, but R. J. Nelson&rsquo;s&#160;<I>Dirty Waters: Confessions of Chicago&rsquo;s Last Harbor Boss</I>&#160;makes a compelling case. . . . There&rsquo;s a certain Chicagoness to Nelson&rsquo;s storytelling that&rsquo;s highly entertaining&mdash;the book reads like a series of anecdotes being told by a lifelong resident of the city.&rdquo;</DIV> (<i>Chicago Reader</i>)<br /><br /><DIV>&ldquo;Fascinating.&rdquo;</DIV> (<i>Library Journal</i>)<br /><br /><DIV>&ldquo;<I>Dirty Waters</I> is a revealing insider&rsquo;s tale of a Harold Washington&ndash;era reformer battling for change. It tells the stories behind the headlines of the &lsquo;Last Harbor Boss&rsquo; of the Chicago Park District. It is written for those who want to know how government really works and how a former protestor, college chaplain, and college administrator opened up the green space and blue space of Chicago and made a cumbersome bureaucracy work for us. Students, scholars, and citizens will read it avidly and celebrate the often unsung heroes of reform.&rdquo;</DIV> (Dick Simpson, professor of political science at University of Illinois at Chicago and former Chicago alderman)<br /><br /><DIV>&ldquo;<I>Dirty Waters </I>is an insider&rsquo;s account of what has become known as the &lsquo;Chicago Way,&rsquo; the corruption at the very heart of the city&rsquo;s political machine. This book is an honest, fascinating, and often startling story of how politics, bribery, and just plain ineptitude often plagued the &lsquo;City that Works.&rsquo;&rdquo;</DIV> (Dominic A. Pacyga, author of Slaughterhouse: Chicago's Union Stock Yard and the World It Made)<br /><br /><DIV>&ldquo;A joy to read. Nelson&rsquo;s achievements are undeniable, detailed with good if rough humor. He declared war on the age-old system of gratuities and outright bribes that had maintained the Harbor&rsquo;s operations in harmony with the citywide culture of &lsquo;where&rsquo;s mine?&rsquo; The results of this campaign are recounted in a feisty, highly entertaining fashion.&rdquo;</DIV> (James T. Fisher, Fordham University)
zlib_text: ![](Images/image00197.jpeg)
  
  DUANE  
  LINDSAY
  
  (SHE’S GOT THE)  
  DEVIL  
  IN HER  
  HEART
  
  **TABLE OF CONTENTS**
  
  **_CHAPTER 1: Chicago, Illinois - July 1960_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 2: Not Any More, You Don’t_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 3: We’re Here for Payback!_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 4: Here’s The Deal_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 5: It’s Gotta End Sometime_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 6: He Knows; Trust Me, He Knows_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 7: Monk in the Desert_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 8: They Whine from Chicago to L.A._**
  
  **_CHAPTER 9: An Hour After You Eat, You Get Wasted_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 10: All Together Now (All Together Now)_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 11: “I Have No Idea.”_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 12: A Bright Clean Place to Stay_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 13:_** _ ** _Bottom’s Up!_**_
  
  **_CHAPTER 14: Everybody Is Kung-Fu Fighting_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 15: A Bonnie Lass_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 16: More From Bonnie_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 17: Your Plan, My Plan; It’s all Good_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 18: Monk Sleeps with the Fishes_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 19: First Blood_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 20: Khrushchev Pounds Shoe_**
  
  **_CHAPTER 21: A V