Wheeler says loading Obama with state's political baggage is unfair

Illinois senator and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has been a Chicago resident for nearly 25 years, and some observers wonder how much his campaign will be tainted by the city's reputation for seedy politics and the state's overall political history.

An article in the July 20, 2008, CQ Weekly quotes Charles Wheeler, director of Public Affairs Reporting at UIS, on the subject. Wheeler says that linking Obama with Illinois' political climate isn't fair: "People who have a more sophisticated knowledge of Chicago politics will realize that Obama is not a machine hack."

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20080720-CQW-ObamaNotChicagoHack.pdf