The Menomini called them pikwute sikakushia (skunk plant), and they referred to an area near the southern shore of Lake Michigan, where ramps grew abundantly, as CicagaWuni or shikako (skunk place). The term was later applied to a white settlement now known as Chicago.
Here's the thing; I've said all along to folks on the left that one of the primary reasons I don't trust Obama is that he's a product of Chicago politics. Now, there's really nothing more corrupt than Chicago politics. It's the pure distillation of American political corruption confined to a relatively small corner on the shores of Lake Michigan.
I met Dan Rostenkowski once, back in the day. Actually had dinner with him. Nice guy. Treated me with respect. Great tipper. Long story involving a steak house where table 50 had a brass plaque engraved "Rosty's Rotunda," and doing the Chairman a favor.
The man oozed power and corruption from his pores. He was akin to a Medieval noble holding court, nourished by prime Chicago beef and the flattery of his sycophants. Occasionally, he would stoop to acknowledge the plebeians in his midst, before moving on to his next scheme.
His political life was Shakespeare writ large upon the stage of reality, where the naked ambition of princes unfolds like a switchblade whose edge is all too real. It is a dirty world of thrust and parry, and finally the killing stroke.
We all joke about the "Chicago Way." It doesn't seem all that funny today.
Remember: Barack Obama is the legacy - the fulfillment - of the "Chicago Way."