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Lake County Politics: A Cornucopia of Corruption
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ABSTRACT
Despite the comical title, there is a lot of corruption in Lake County (IN) politics: public officials using public office or public monies for private gain, such as shaking down employees for tickets to election fund-raisers (Katie Hall in Gary, IN), awarding public works contracts and receiving kickbacks (Former East Chicago Councilman
Randall Artis), public officials committing tax fraud
regarding IRS filings (Former North Township Trustee G. Gregory Cvitkovich) or the more general practice of dead people voting. These practices have been ongoing in Lake County since the turn of the century and have most recently culminated in the indictment of six public officials in East Chicago (the so-called “Sidewalk Six”) for misusing public funds for political gain, specifically vote-buying in the 1999 mayoral re-election of Robert Pastrick. These officials, ranging from a Parks Superintendent to a City Engineer to several East Chicago council members, bought votes by pouring sidewalks, driveways, trimming trees, etc., on private property using public funds and non-competitive bids. This scandal will be the topic of this paper. This type of corruption (vote-buying) falls under the categories of “white” and “gray” corruption as theorized by Heidenheimer (1970): where “white” corruption is typically found in kinship-based systems and tolerated and “gray” corruption is found in boss-patronage type systems but not thought to be wrong by those involved. Is it hypothesized that the vote-buying occurred due to four elements: lack of a competitive second party (Democrats have controlled East Chicago since its incorporation in 1889), machine politics, a largely ethnic immigrant population, and large amounts of casino money. The paper will explain how this type of corruption fits into the larger literature on corruption and will conclude with the prospects for cleaner politics in East Chicago, Indiana.
Every twenty years or so, a US Attorney comes to Lake County, Indiana,
to clean house. In the 1980’s the clean up procedures were dubbed “Operation
Bar Tab” and “Operation Lights Out.” By the time the operations ended in 1995,
over 20 local and Democratic Party officials were indicted and convicted on
public corruption charges. "Operation Bar Tab" centered in the county courts,
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ABSTRACT
Despite the comical title, there is a lot of corruption in Lake County (IN) politics:
public officials using public office or public monies for private gain, such as
shaking down employees for tickets to election fund-raisers (Katie Hall in Gary,
IN), awarding public works contracts and receiving kickbacks (Former East
Chicago Councilman
Randall Artis), public officials committing tax fraud
regarding IRS filings (Former North Township Trustee G. Gregory Cvitkovich) or
the more general practice of dead people voting. These practices have been
ongoing in Lake County since the turn of the century and have most recently
culminated in the indictment of six public officials in East Chicago (the so-called
“Sidewalk Six”) for misusing public funds for political gain, specifically vote-
buying in the 1999 mayoral re-election of Robert Pastrick. These officials,
ranging from a Parks Superintendent to a City Engineer to several East Chicago
council members, bought votes by pouring sidewalks, driveways, trimming trees,
etc., on private property using public funds and non-competitive bids. This
scandal will be the topic of this paper. This type of corruption (vote-buying) falls
under the categories of “white” and “gray” corruption as theorized by
Heidenheimer (1970): where “white” corruption is typically found in kinship-
based systems and tolerated and “gray” corruption is found in boss-patronage
type systems but not thought to be wrong by those involved. Is it hypothesized
that the vote-buying occurred due to four elements: lack of a competitive second
party (Democrats have controlled East Chicago since its incorporation in 1889),
machine politics, a largely ethnic immigrant population, and large amounts of
casino money. The paper will explain how this type of corruption fits into the
larger literature on corruption and will conclude with the prospects for cleaner
politics in East Chicago, Indiana.
Every twenty years or so, a US Attorney comes to Lake County, Indiana,
to clean house. In the 1980’s the clean up procedures were dubbed “Operation
Bar Tab” and “Operation Lights Out.” By the time the operations ended in 1995,
over 20 local and Democratic Party officials were indicted and convicted on
public corruption charges. "Operation Bar Tab" centered in the county courts,
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