John Kass: The Chicago Way and the IRS scandal

When he was a boy, Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass, whose father and uncle ran a grocery store on Chicago's South Side--why his family, which constantly talked about politics, didn't actually get participate in it.

He got a quick explanation on The Chicago Way.

Oh, did you think the IRS scandal emerged out of nowhere?

From Kass' Sunday column:

This was Chicago. And for a business owner to get involved meant one thing: It would cost you money and somebody from government could destroy you.

The health inspectors would come, and the revenue department, the building inspectors, the fire inspectors, on and on. The city code books aren't thick because politicians like to write new laws and regulations. The codes are thick because when government swings them at a citizen, they hurt.

And who swings the codes and regulations at those who'd open their mouths? A government worker. That government worker owes his or her job to the political boss. And that boss has a boss.

The worker doesn't have to be told. The worker wants a promotion. If an irritant rises, it is erased. The hack gets a promotion. This is government.

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