Michael L. Shakman

Michael Shakman, center, and other activists announce an effort to identify victims of political hiring in October 1970. The Shakman lawsuit against patronage resulted in a 1972 consent decree and decades of court battles.

Here’s how the Shakman case curbed Cook County patronage

May 31, 2019 at 4:18 p.m.

I am one of the plaintiffs in the so-called “Shakman case,” and have been so for almost half a century. In fact, the Shakman decrees (a term that refers to...

In Chicago, patronage isn’t dead yet

August 22, 2021 at 6:38 a.m.

Forty years ago my colleagues and I filed a lawsuit seeking to end Chicago's system that trades public jobs for political work and campaign contributions. Thirty-nine years ago, the U.S....

Chicago politics and hiring practices

August 19, 2021 at 9:20 p.m.

Your Feb. 3 editorial "Time for Shakman to evolve" is right that the court orders protecting the political freedom of City of Chicago employees are a positive force for good....

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