Dianne M. Pinderhughes. Race and Ethnicity in Chicago Politics: A Reexamination of Pluralist Theory. Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1987. 261 pp. plus appendix, notes, bibliography and index. $29.95.

Race and Ethnicity in Chicago Politics by Dianne Pinderhughes, a political scientist at the University of Illinois, fills a gap in the literature on the subject in two ways.

First, as the title indicates, the book compares the black political experience in Chicago with that of ethnic groups — specifically, Italians and Poles, who migrated to the city at roughly the same time as the black exodus from the South. Focusing on the period 1910-1940, Pinderhughes shows how these groups new to the city transformed themselves from migrants into residents and from immigrants into citizens in a complex political environment. Most Previous research on the black experience lacks such a comparative context.

Second, as the subtitle suggests, Pinderhughes uses this comparative context to challenge the pluralist theory in political science as it tries to explain black political experience. Pluralists believe that democracy consists of competing interest groups and that public policy reflects compromises among them. But Pinderhughes concludes that because race operates diferently from ethnicity in politics, black intetergration into the city's political life has proven more difficult than pluralism suggests. The process of assimilation predicted by pluralists assumes no major impediments to social integration, which has proven true for Chicago's Italians and Poles but not for its blacks.

Chapters 1-3 examine the economic, social and political climate of 20th century Chicago. Chapters 4 and 5 delineate the political structure of the black, Italian and Polish communities and demonstrate the impact of racial discrimination on black political beliefs and participation. Chapters 6 and 7 analyze the extent to which public officials create policies responsive to constituents' interests. The last chapter synthesizes the author's earlier conclusions with theoretical explanations about the entry of racial and ethnic groups into Chicago politics from 1910-1940. A summary of political developments in the city from 1940-1980 is also provided, along with a description of the 1983 mayoral primary and general elections.

Among the barriers to black political integration, Pinderhughes identifies pervasive racism in the city's housing and labor markets, contrasted with less restrictive patterns of discrimination against European ethnics. Fluctuations in black and ethnic employment resulted from differential recruitment, training, promotion and discharge practices by both management and labor. The author shows how industries tried to divide the city's labor force along racial and ethnic lines in order to minimize its bargaining power and to reduce costs. To alleviate such practices would have required an aggressive city government with the power and authority to regulate the behavior of some of America's largest corporations.

Pinderhughes also examines crime and punishment patterns in Chicago, discussing illegitimate businesses and their relationship to law and order in black, Italian and Polish communities. She concludes that although Poles were not heavily involved in illegal activities, blacks and Italians were — but with different consequences. While members of both groups gambled, drank and frequented prostitutes, black offenders were more likely to be arrested and convicted.

She further documents the effect of politicization of the city's education system not only on curriculum and instruction but also on school expenditures, which were made according to staff loyalties as perceived by city administrations. School employment and districting policies also reflected discriminatory patterns.

An absorbing account of the formation of the Chicago Democratic machine under Anton Cermak prior to the 1930s summarizes a period of intense inter- and intra-party rivalry. Pinderhughes illustrates how such machines manipulated individual voters and interest groups to support their regimes. She also traces the hierarchy among the three groups studied and documents Irish domination of city government after Mayor Cermak's assassination in 1933.

Finally, Pinderhughes explains how the Chicago political climate changed following Mayor Richard J. Daley's death in 1976, permitting the black community to mount a successful mayoral campaign in 1983. She shows why these same changes made Harold Washington's first year in office so difficult and ends by arguing that merely having a black mayor does not guarantee substantial change in public policy.

Race and Ethnicity in Chicago Politics offers an authentic view of the political role of blacks and ethnics in the city, one which can be substantiated by many Chicagoans who lived during the period it describes. Pinderhughes uses articles, essays and interviews as sources without always clearly bridging between them, but this does not compromise the overall merit of her study.

An excellent index as well as notes and appendix help the reader trace topics treated in more than one chapter. This book is valuable reading for anyone interested in the past sources of present problems and future prospects in Chicago politics.

Robert B. Donaldson II is professor of public administration at Governors State University. He serves as commissioner on the Public Building Commission of Chicago; elected school board member on the Bremen Township Community High School District 228, Midlothian; and appointed member to the Zoning Board of Appeals, Hazelcrest.