Wordless Wednesday: grandpa

University of Illinois at Chicago Researcher Debunks Mob Impact on 1960 Presidential Election.

AScribe Law News Service March 20, 2006 Byline: University of Illinois at Chicago EMBARGOED until 5 a.m. EDT Monday, March 20 — Option 1 CHICAGO, March 20 (AScribe Newswire) — An analysis of voting totals from the 1960 presidential election debunks claims that the Chicago Mob played a significant role in tilting the election to John F. Kennedy, according to a University of Illinois at Chicago organized crime historian and researcher.

Binder, UIC associate professor of finance, statistically examined election voting by four groups of Chicago wards and suburbs where organized crime would have been most able to deliver votes for Kennedy if it so desired, including: website 2012 presidential election

- the 1^st, 24^th, 25^th, 28^th and 29^th wards — the above five wards and the 45^th ward — the five “Outfit” wards and two suburbs (Chicago Heights and Cicero), and — all six Chicago wards and the two suburbs The percentage of voters casting a Democratic ballot in 1960 was compared not only to the percentage voting Democratic in the previous (1956) or the next (1964) presidential election, but also to how the other wards in Chicago voted in 1960.

The findings, detailed in an upcoming issue of the journal Public Choice, show that in only one of eight cases is there any evidence of unusually strong Democratic voting that might have been due to organized crime.

“It certainly is not consistent with an all-out effort to elect John Kennedy, because in that case, increased Democratic voting should be evident in more than just 12.5 percent of the tests,” Binder said. “The results, as further tests show, are more likely due to a concerted effort to defeat the incumbent Republican state’s attorney, which due to straight-ticket voting in some cases, threw a few more votes to John Kennedy,” he said. see here 2012 presidential election

“Therefore, much of what has been written about the Outfit, the 1960 presidential election and other events involving the Kennedy family appears to be historical myth — which along with other fascinating myths, should not be taken seriously,” Binder said.

- — - — NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. “University of Illinois” and “U. of I.” are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign.

SUMMARY: An analysis of voting totals from the 1960 presidential election debunks claims that the Chicago Mob played a significant role in tilting the election to John F. Kennedy.

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